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Today May 2017

A small group of riders met at Fujiten for some lift assisted downhill fun.
The crowd was small and more women and kids than I can recall in recent memory.
This is a good thing - More families are seeing the benefit, so more money can be made... so hopefully longer seasons and more amenities... hopefully.

Also the addition of estrogen to the mountain keeps things a tad more balanced and fun.

I threw together a super short edit of the day...

 
28c for a while now. Kept thinking I had a flat as I run them with quite low pressure, 65psi, but everything is fine. Speed seems fine, feel seems fine, no punctures as yet. To be totally honest I don't think I noticed much of a difference at all. I'm just thick like that.
65psi? I'm 72kg and had mine at 80.... I'll try coming down a few psi, felt a little bumpy on the chip and seal roads.
 
@theBlob

As instructed, had my first gari gari kun (soda) this morning - haven`t seen any of the other flavours yet in the combinis......
 
Experimenting with bike camping. Went to Izu for an overnight. Train to Mishima, bike down the west coast, over the hump to the east coast, then back.

Route 17 around the northern coast of Izu is really nice. Little traffic, beautiful scenery and great views of Mt. Fuji. And, apparently one of the fishing villages was seeing off their fleet of ships. The rather large trawlers did circles in the bay, all the while blasting their horns. Then they proceeded out of the harbor in line formation, still blasting away. As they departed, you could hear folks cheering from the hills. Pretty cool.

Once 17 meets up with 136 at Toi, things get more difficult. That situation wasn't helped by this being GW. Lots of traffic, fairly fast, plus the tunnels being narrow, I'm never sure if folks will wait to get past me, or try to squeeze between me and the oncoming traffic without worrying overly much about whether they sideswipe me or not. Not one of the more enjoyable sections.

Then it was over the hump on Route 121. I love this road. Well-paved, quiet, little traffic and beautiful scenery, especially as you descend into the farming area and take nice bike friendly roads to the east coast. This route, itself, is worth the trip.

Now it was time to scout for good camping sites (stealth camping). Unfortunately, I suffered from the Goldilocks syndrome. None of the sites were private enough or flat enough, or .... etc. What to do? It was about 6 p.m.. Just enough time to head back over the west coast, so that's what I did. Back up and over the hump on 121 in the dark (no problem thanks to the Cateye light) but a bit spooky, being the only person on that rather deserted road. Then around Matsuzaki, I spotted a relatively nice place. Flat... secluded... just right. Pulled out my bivvy, sleeping pad, and bag liner and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, I misjudged the temperature rating so was pretty cold. Plus no mosquito protection and my bivvy was too short to close up fully (SOL emergency bivvy). Not a disaster, but not all that comfortable either. Live and learn.

Then off early, 5 a.m. for return to Shuzenji and trains north. Uneventful, but climbing the hump on 136 was not so fun. Traffic on 136 was a bit heavy, and again, cars and trucks are usually speeding, so not such a pleasant ride. Not bad, just not great.

So, that was Izu this GW. Met some good folks and a group of riders from Tokyo. They passed me later and all I heard was the woosh of tires before they disappeared up ahead. Wow! Very impressed. I kinda like being poky and taking my time, but was envious of this group's speed.
 
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@Karl
Shuzenji - The Baird Brewery is right there! You should have checked it out for a beer and a brewery tour!!! (or maybe you did, but didn't mention?)
Also they are in the works (*and have been for a couple years) to get a campground running on the property. In the future, that is a destination ride.

Near Matsuzaki, I have stayed at a car park. It cost a little more than I think it was worth, but overall, it was quite pleasant.
 
Beer and camping in one place? Wish I'd known. OTOH, might not have left Shuzenji.

I'm going to have to get smart about campsites. The one I slept near (not in) had folks partying and a yappy dog barking till 11 or so. Next time I'll try to have something reserved before I go. Stealth camping doesn't seem as easy as I thought it would be.
 
Experimenting with bike camping. Went to Izu for an overnight. Train to Mishima, bike down the west coast, over the hump to the east coast, then back.

Route 17 around the northern coast of Izu is really nice. Beautiful scenery and great views of Mt. Fuji. And, apparently one of the fishing villages was seeing off their fleet of ships. The rather large trawlers did circles in the bay, all the while blasting their horns. Then they proceeded out of the harbor in line formation, still blasting away. As they departed, you could hear folks cheering from the hills. Pretty cool.

Once 17 meets up with 136 at Toi, things get more difficult. That situation wasn't helped by this being GW. Lots of traffic, fairly fast, plus the tunnels being narrow, I'm never sure if folks will wait to get past me, or try to squeeze between me and the oncoming traffic without worrying overly much about whether they sideswipe me or not. Not one of the more enjoyable sections.

Then it was over the hump on Route 121. I love this road. Well-paved, quiet, little traffic and beautiful scenery, especially as you descend into the farming area and take nice bike friendly roads to the east coast. This route, itself, is worth the trip.

Now it was time to scout for good camping sites (stealth camping). Unfortunately, I suffered from the Goldilocks syndrome. None of the sites were private enough or flat enough, or .... etc. What to do? It was about 6 p.m.. Just enough time to head back over the west coast, so that's what I did. Back up and over the hump on 121 in the dark (no problem thanks to the Cateye light) but a bit spooky, being the only person on that rather deserted road. Then around Matsuzaki, I spotted a relatively nice place. Flat... secluded... just right. Pulled out my bivvy, sleeping pad, and bag liner and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, I misjudged the temperature rating so was pretty cold. Plus no mosquito protection and my bivvy was too short to close up fully (SOL emergency bivvy). Not a disaster, but not all that comfortable either. Live and learn.

Then off early, 5 a.m. for return to Shuzenji and trains north. Uneventful, but climbing the hump on 136 was not so fun. Traffic on 136 was a bit heavy, and again, cars and trucks are usually speeding, so not such a pleasant ride. Not bad, just not great.

So, that was Izu this GW. Met some good folks and a group of riders from Tokyo. They passed me later and all I heard was the woosh of tires before they disappeared up ahead. Wow! Very impressed. I kinda like being poky and taking my time, but was envious of this group's speed.
Great write-up.
Glad you had a good ride.
Those SOL's are decent enough but i wouldn't want to use one every time.
Going UL is admirable enough.....but once the mozzie season hits I'm sure you are going to need either a bug net or tent.

Kudos to you for getting out there and getting it done.
 
Thanks. It was a learning experience and trial run.

Next time, I'll reserve a site beforehand and take my Big Agnes tent (possibly w/o the rain fly.) I liked how my Ostrich seat post bag worked and just bought a Topeak Frontloader bag for more carrying capacity on the front bars. Summer is coming and I'm looking forward to getting out there again. Next up is Noto and or Sado.
 
Beer and camping in one place? Wish I'd known. OTOH, might not have left Shuzenji.

I'm going to have to get smart about campsites. The one I slept near (not in) had folks partying and a yappy dog barking till 11 or so. Next time I'll try to have something reserved before I go. Stealth camping doesn't seem as easy as I thought it would be.
Stealth camping works well if you know someone who used to live in the area. For off road, I could give out several places in Zushi/Hayama you could get away with setting up for the night. I have also found camping on the beach works if you do it near farms. I would not dream of doing it on a beach in Zushi/kamakura.
 
The stealth camping thing seems to depend on finding the right place or knowing someone. On my ride, either places were in deep forest, or easily discoverable public areas.. and I don't really know anyone in Izu. After a long ride, nice to know you have a good place to camp and refresh. As long as I can find a good place to reserve, I think that is the way to go. That said, I'm not above stealth camping if the opportunity opens up. (Cheapskate that I am.)
 
I did some Stealth camping as well yesterday, after I woke up I rode on towards the highest point of my route, I rode past a lot of people in cars that just parked on the side of the road and put up tents next to the car... Not a very busy road to be fair, but if worst come to worst there's always that option.

And related to that highest point on that route, I am sad to inform the classic TCC @Yamabushi Ghost town ride wont be ridable for the quite some time I reckon:

 
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